LOGIN~FIORELLA~I know I’m speaking.I can hear my own voice…..steady, controlled, precise as always, but something is off.It’s subtle at first….a shift in the air, then a disruption in rhythm.And I don't like it all.I don't tolerate disruption like this.My fingers rest lightly on the document in front of me as I continue explaining clause 4B, my tone even, confident, leaving no room for doubt or interruption. The room is now exactly how I like it…..quiet, attentive, obedient, and controlled.Until I feel a gaze heavy and unrelenting.I don’t look up immediately. I never do. I finish my sentence first, because I don’t break structure for anyone.But when I finally lift my eyes, my chest tightens just slightly, so slightly no one would ever notice.My expression doesn’t change. It never does. I hold his gaze just long enough to acknowledge his existence… and dismiss it.He’s nothing, just another distraction, so I continue speaking.But something inside me i
~LUCAS~She's speaking now, but I don’t hear half of what she’s saying.The meeting continues….voices speaking, papers shifting, someone presenting numbers, but all of it fades into a distant blur because my eyes are locked on her.Or… the person who looks exactly like her.My chest tightens slowly, painfully, like something is pressing inward.Marcella.The name echoes in my head like a ghost I can’t bury.But the longer I sit here… the longer I watch her, the more something feels wrong.Terribly wrong.My jaw tightens as I lean back slightly in my chair, forcing myself to breathe, to think, to see.Because this?This woman in front of me?She is not the girl I knew.The Marcella I remember wasn't like this.She wasn’t cold, she wasn't sharp.She didn’t sit in rooms like this, commanding silence with just a look.And Marcella…..my Marcella…..would have reacted. Even if it was anger. Even if it was denial. She would have felt something.My Marcella laughed to
~LUCAS~The moment I step into the room, everything in me stops.My hand is still on the door, and my breath catches halfway in my chest.Because sitting at the head of the table is her…Marcella.She's sitting there…back straight, chin slightly lifted, eyes sharp and unreadable.What is Marcella doing sitting here with lawyers when she isn't a law student??It doesn’t fit her.My grip on the door tightens unconsciously, the metal cold against my palm, grounding me because suddenly the room feels like it’s tilting. This isn’t right. None of this is right.My heart starts pounding harder, and before I can even process it….“Oh, here he is.”The voice pulls everyone’s attention to me, but I barely hear it, because I'm still staring at her.Still trying to understand what I’m looking at.“Our new intern. Mr. Lucas Santis.”The introduction barely registers, because her eyes are on me now.And just like earlier, there’s nothing in them….no recognition, no reaction,
~FIORELLA~“Mr. Santis,” I repeat, my voice dropping dangerously, “I do not repeat myself often. You are already on unstable ground. I suggest you start explaining yourself.”He finally speaks again.“I’m sorry, once again.” His words are quiet, and measured. “I apologize for coming in late.”My eyes narrow slightly because he's too calm, too controlled.“I was early,” he continues. “I got to the company before time.”A faint shift moves through the room ... .they are interested again, and hope that he might salvage this.I remain unmoved.“And yet,” I say, “you are standing here late.”“Yes,” he admits with no excuses…. just that single word.“There was… a situation,” he adds.Something in his tone shifts. It's subtle, but I catch it.A situation.My mind flashes instantly…. the chaos, the moment he mistook me for my sister.My jaw tightens almost imperceptibly.Of course it was that.Of course he was that problem.A quiet, humorless scoff slips past my lips.“
~FIORELLA~No, this is not happening.I don’t react because I never show my reaction in public, and yet, for the briefest, most treacherous second… something inside me stills when my eyes land on him.The stranger from earlier, the one who touched me without permission.My expression does not change….it never does.But beneath the stillness… beneath the perfect composure I wear like skin, something sharp and unwelcome coils in my chest.Please..…let it not be him.My gaze flicks, just once, to the empty chair, and then back to him….still standing at the door, still breathing slightly harder than he should, still looking at me like….No.I cut the thought off instantly.He means nothing.He is nothing….. just a stranger, just an inconvenience, just….“Oh, here he is.”The senior partner’s voice cuts through the silence like a blade.And just like that, everything inside me drops slow, heavy, and final.No!!“…our new intern,” he continues, relief evident in his t
~FIORELLA~I'll never have to see him again…. right??The thought lingers for half a second too long, and I hate that.I stop walking….not abruptly, not in a way anyone else would notice.Just a slight pause… a near-invisible hesitation.But I feel it….that tiny crack in my control.My fingers curl slowly at my side, nails pressing lightly into my palm.This is unacceptable, because I don't hesitate, I don't question, and I definitely do not let strangers crawl into my thoughts and stay there.I inhale, slowly, controlled, and measured, then exhale just as steadily.And just like that…it's gone.Everything soft, everything uncertain, everything unnecessary….gone.My spine straightens slightly, my shoulders settling back into perfect alignment.My expression smooths out, every trace of irritation, curiosity, and distraction erased like it was never there.Everything is back to being cold, composed and untouchable.That’s who I am, and that's who I remain.The so
~LUCAS~I shouldn't let Marcella distract me, I tell myself.So I sit up straight, clear my throat and take a deep breath.I start listening to Dr. Raymond again, not until her foot nudges mine under the desk again.I stiffen.She leans closer, her voice barely a breath.“Y
~LUCAS~I don’t stop walking until I’m outside.The cool air hits my face, and only then do I realize my hands are clenched into fists.What the hell was that?I drag a hand through my hair, breathing hard, and forcing my body to stop shaking.My goodness! She affects me so m
~MARCELLA~Stephanie drags her feet beside me as we step out of the club, squinting like the sun personally offended her.“I’m tired,” she groans, stretching the word until it sounds like a life sentence. “Like… completely tired. And I need coffee. Strong coffee. The kind tha
~LUCAS~I shouldn’t be here at the club. But heartbreak made me come here.The incidents that happened earlier replays in my head.I had just finished my shift at the coffee shop, my work apron folded under my arm, the smell of coffee still clinging to my clothes.I was tired,







